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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Odesza will visit the Rex Wednesday, February 5,
alongside Emancipator and Real Magic. Consider this a warm-up for the
duo, who the swing out west to headline a tour of their own March and
April.

Odesza is Harrison Mills (aka Catacombkid) and
Clayton Knight (BeachesBeaches), two beatmakers who combined forces
after graduating from Western Washington University a few years back.
Their mix of downtempo and trip-hop with ambient noise and clatter
brings to mind RJD2, especially their track "How Did I Get
Here," which samples Lily Allen's "22." But then you
hear a track like "iPlayYouListen," a brighter piece with
synths and piano, and you realize the guys are just beginning to
sculpt their own sound.

Here's the video for "My Friends Never Die,"
which is off the EP of the same name. (The EP is available as a free
download off the band's website, odesza.com)

The duo have played some of the bigger summer
festivals, including Sasquatch, in their home state of Washington,
and California's Lightning In A Bottle. Not bad for a partnership
still in its infancy.

It should be an fun night of music and dancing.
Emancipator will perform with a four-piece live band that he's
calling Emancipator Ensemble.

We have two tickets to giveaway for the show. To
enter, email your name to pghmusicreport [at] gmail.com, and put
"odesza" in the subject line. We'll let you know if you
won.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Lotus are set to play Pittsburgh February 1, at
Stage AE. They churn out an instrumental stew of rock, electronica,
hip-hop, and about a dozen other styles of music. Their energetic
live shows have earned them legions of fans, and they are a regular
at jam festivals all over the country and the world. Their light
show, meanwhile, is approaching mythic status.

We spoke with bassist Jesse Miller prior to their
visit. Jesse plays bass and sampler, and he is twin brother to Luke,
Lotus's guitarist. The two of them started the band over a dozen
years ago, and they show no signs of letting up despite a touring
schedule that sees them play well over a hundred shows a year. Jesse
also has a new side project, Beard o Bees, which owes more the EDM
than rock.

Pittsburgh Music Report: Let me start with a
question from my cousin, Emily, who is a big fan of yours. (Her
favorite track: "Umbilical Moonrise.") She wants to know if
Lotus has a goal or intention in mind when stepping on stage to
perform.

Jesse Miller: For me, it is to build an energy in
the room. If you can establish a connection with the crowd and
we are playing well, a feedback loop starts to build where the crowd
energy feeds us and that pushes us which in turn pushes the crowd
higher. When that is working we go from really quiet, delicate
music to huge rockers and never lose the crowd.

PMR: Lotus released two new albums last year,
Build and Monks. When you record a studio album do you try to capture
the energy of your live show, or is it a completely different
process?

JM: I think it is a completely different energy.
We record and release almost every live show we play via
livedownloads.com.
So, there is no shortage of high quality live recording. With
a studio recording so many things are different than a live
performance - the dynamic range, the listening environment. It
opens up certain areas of detail but closes others in terms of range,
power and time. We try to exploit the advantages, so we do
things like improvising only in a live setting and recording to tape
and mixing through an analog console for our studio recordings.

PMR: To say Lotus plays a lot of gigs is like
saying The Grateful Dead had a pretty big following. Do you have any
favorite venues or festivals? What about crowd size? Is there an
ideal number of people to play to?

JM: We actually play a lot less shows than many
bands, but we rarely take more than 4 weeks completely off. I
definitely have some favorites - Theaters: 9:30 Club DC, Georgia
Theatre Athens, Fillmore Denver, Riviera Chicago. Festivals:
Electric Forest, Bonnnaroo.

PMR: Can you remember the longest set Lotus has
ever played?

JM: Years and years ago we played a show in
Baltimore. I think there was no opener so we started early, but
then there was a time change and the bar ended up staying open an
hour later, so we just kept playing. It probably ended up being
4 hours of music. By the end, we were losing it from
exhaustion.

PMR: Tell me what your relationship is like
with bands like STS9 or Papadosio, groups that you've played a ton of
festivals with and even jammed with at times. Is there a special
fraternity between jam bands?

JM: We've played with both of those bands before,
but I've only briefly met a few of the band members. I would
say there is a rapport among touring bands, especially bands that
play a lot of the same festivals. Over the summer we run into a
lot of the same groups backstage at festivals and that is usually a
good time to hang out for more than a couple minutes. The
touring lifestyle is difficult to explain to people who have never
done it, but other touring bands will understand. It is always fun to
trade stories with other people who are also out on the road and in
the music business, and I think that is where the main connection
exists.

PMR: Do you mind when people call Lotus a jam
band? Is that a label you try to avoid?

JM: I try to avoid it just because I think there
are more negative connotations than positive ones. We change
our set lists nightly, perform group improvisations and don't fit
easily in a genre. But, when a lot of people hear "jamband"
they think mindless guitar noodling, terrible studio albums and Phish
fans - I don't want to be pegged to those descriptions.

PMR: I don't want to perpetuate any stereotypes
about your fan base with this last question, but here goes: After you
play Pittsburgh, Lotus has a week off before heading back to Denver
to play two nights at the Fillmore. This will be your first gig in
Colorado since marijuana became legal. Do you have anything special
planned? Maybe you can do another one of your themed shows, but with
all Phish and Peter Tosh covers.

JM: Nothing planned at the moment. If we
played "Legalize It" every time CO made a political step
forward on marijuana, we'd be covering Peter Tosh every time we came
to the state.

We have two tickets to giveaway for this
performance. To enter, email your name to "pghmusicreport [at]
gmail.com," and put "lotus" in the subject heading.
We'll take care of the rest.

Opening is Buku, a local DJ. He has a song called "Booty Clapasaurus." You can read more about him in this City Paperfeature.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Phosphorescent is the Matthew McConaughey
of indie rock. Not only is he a rakishly handsome Southerner, but for
years he created laid back, whiskey-soaked ballads that fell on the
country side of country-rock. He made an album full of Willie Nelson
covers and an album titled "Here's To Taking It Easy,"
which could easily serve as McConaughey's
epitaph. But gradually critics could no longer ignore the fact that
they were witnessing a major creative force. In 2013, Phosphorescent
created the beautiful Muchacho,
which won Paste Magazine's
Album of the Year award.

Call it his Dallas Buyer's Club.

To put it another way, Phosphorescent is to
Matthew Houck as Bon Iver is to Justin Vernon. And as Paste
pointed out, there is a legend that surrounds the creation of
Muchacho similar to that of
Justin Vernon fleshing out the Bon Iver album deep
in the winter woods of Wisconsin.

In this version
of artist-as-wayfarer, Matthew Houck, in the midst of personal agony,
traveled to Mexico, found salvation, and came back with a
heartrendingly beautiful album. "See the cage, it called. I
said, come on in/I will not open myself up this way again" he
sings on the cathartic "Song for Zula," the first single
off the album. Odds are you heard that one on WYEP at some point –
they present the show – and here it is again, performed live:

It's usually
bittersweet to watch a favored musician hit the big time, but
Muchacho should please
fans old and new alike. Houck's singing still rides along the mournful ups
and downs of the slide guitar, which tends to makes everything sound
more heartfelt. His voice, fragile and honest, reminds me a bit of
Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, had Wayne traded in the DMT for Wild
Turkey.

We have a pair of
tickets to giveaway for the Phosphorescent's visit to Pittsburgh, which occurs January 31 at Mr. Smalls. Email us
at pghmusicreport[at]gmail.com with "Phosphorescent" in the subject line, include your name, and we'll let you
know if you won.

Caveman open for Phosphorescent. We previewed them once before, in 2011, when they played with The War on Drugs. You can read our take on them here.

After weeks of hype and features in the Post-Gazette, the Pitt News, and the City Paper, the debut album from Pittsburgh's Nox Boys has finally been released. The self-titled LP is available on CD and vinyl through the band's label, Get Hip Records, and can be purchased through their website.

Here's a brief recap of the garage rockers' quick, unlikely ascension to the top of Pittsburgh's local music scene:

April 5, 2013: Zack Keim approaches Gregg Kostelich, President of Get Hip Records, after a performance by Mr. Kostelich and his band, The Cynics, at Mr. Smalls. Zack hands Gregg a raw demo copy of his band, The Nox Boys, who are made up of himself, two of his classmates from Fox Chapel High School, Zach and Sam, and Bob Powers, a veteran slide guitar player with whom Zack jammed at open mic nights at Moondog's, in Blawnox, the group's hometown. (Before long they are signed to the label.)

July 16, 2013: The Nox Boys play Garfield Artworks.

August 8, 2013: Scott Mervis of the Post-Gazette names The Nox Boys a Band to Watch.

August 24, 2013: Three of the four Nox Boys perform and interview live on the John Mcintire Show on KDKA 1020 AM. (They visit the show again December 14.)

Labor Day Weekend, 2013: The band records their debut LP in Detroit with longtime producer Jim Diamond, who previously helped produce albums by the White Stripes and The Dirtbombs.

October 20, 2013: The Nox Boys play the Mr. Roboto Project.

January 18, 2014: The band sells out their album release show at The Warhol Museum.

Here's their video for "Susie Lee," off the self-titled album:

We spoke with Zack just prior to the record release, to get his thoughts on the band and it's future:

Pittsburgh Music Report: Besides
heading out to Moondog's and starting a band, what does a teenager do
for fun in Blawnox?

Zack Keim: Well,
the people I hang with are mostly musicians... So they all hang out
at Pianos N Stuff.

PMR: Are
you surprised by how well everything has gone for the band so far?
You sold out your album release show, the local press can't stop
talking about you, and you're signed to a label started by one of
your idols.

ZK: Yeah,
everything has just been happening so fast, man. It's been basically [over]
the course of a year [that] we have been signed, recorded a full length LP,
and shook the local press. I was shocked when we sold out the Warhol.
It was night before the Warhol at Get Hip when I received the text
from Josh Verbanets from Meeting Of Important People, who was also
playing the release show, and I was like "Damn, we just sold out
The Warhol to 300 people?" It was hard to believe but it
happened.

PMR: Tell
us what was going through your head that night of The Cynics show at
Mr. Smalls when you handed them a copy of your demo tape.

ZK: Lots
and lots of fuzz. But, really... I kind of went to the show planning
on handing over a demo to The Cynics. I heard about the label and was
like, "We live a couple miles from this prestigious garage punk label, why don't we try to do something about it?" I went to Mr. Smalls with a
CD stuck in my jean jacket. I remember after the show Michael
Kastelic [lead singer of The Cynics] was walking out out into the
theater. Most of the guys were {intimidated] to hand over the CD.But
I went over and introduced myself to Michael and the first thing he
did was literally grab me. Kind of the touchy-feely guy... But Bob [Nox Boys slide guitarist]
kind of nodded me to Gregg Kostelich [Get Hip President and guitarist
of The Cynics] when he came out. I went over introduced myself and
handed him the demo. I remember him saying "Hey man, just cause
you're handing me this thing, I'm not gonna sign you. I'll check it
out though..." After about a month or two we got signed onto Get
Hip.

PMR: Obviously
you're pleased with how the album turned out, otherwise you wouldn't
have released it. But are there any songs that came out differently
than you originally envisioned?

ZK: Not
really. We went into the studio and knew what we were doing.

PMR: What
have you been listening to lately? I know you're a big fan of
"modern" garage rock, like The Black Lips and Ty Segall.

ZK: I
been listening to The Orwells a lot lately, these garage punk kids
from Chicago about the same age as myself and some of the other
band members. Sam and I saw them when they came to
Smiling Moose in Pittsburgh and kind of befriended them. They took a
bunch of our Nox Boys stickers and we talked to them for a while.
Gonna try to catch them in Columbus, Ohio in February; they are
touring with the Arctic Monkeys.

PMR: What's
the dynamic like with Bob? Not only is he twice the age of the rest
of the band, but he's also Sam's Uncle. You've got to call him Uncle
Bob, right?

ZK: Bob
adds the fuzziness, distortion, echo, and badass leads to the Nox
Boys. I don't call him Uncle Bob. I've known Bob for about almost two
years now and he has become a really good friend of mine.

PMR: Are
any of you still in touch with David, your former bassist [and inspiration for the song "Military School"]? What does
he think of the band's success?

ZK: I
am. David's been a close friend of mine since middle school. I have been
in and out of bands with him since I started playing guitar. He
appreciates our success I think... It's hard to tell with the kid.
But the kid has loads of talent and I really think he has the
potential to have a great musical career more in the Passion Pit /
MGMT/ synth pop scene.

PMR: Nox
Boys play a local music showcase February 7 at Mr. Smalls.
What's next? I
can't be the only one who wants to see The Nox Boys on tour with The
Cynics!

ZK: New
York City? San Francisco? Europe? Spain? Tour I hope. The only
problem is that we are still in high school. Maybe some weekend tour
dates until summer...

PMR: Have
you guys sat down and had that big talk about the future yet?
Zach and Sam graduate this summer, but you still have another year to
go.

ZK: Not
really. It's kind of tough to focus on school when all this stuff is
happening. I'm the youngest in the band so I'm sure next year it's
gonna be tough when I'm still in school and the other
guys [are] graduated.

PMR: Last
question: There's a video up on Youtube of you guys busking in the
park. How much did you end up making that day?

ZK: Hahaha!
Funny you found that. Yeah, I think about $50.

We are giving away a copy of the Nox Boys debut LP signed by members of the band . To enter, simply send your name to "pghmusicreport@gmail.com," and put "Nox Boys" in the subject line. All entries should be submitted by January 30, and we'll announce the winner the next day. Can't wait to find out if you won or not? The album is available for sale on CD and vinyl at the Get Hip website.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

It's only fitting that a band from Detroit would
play the music of a bygone era. Part retro, part rock, and all soul,
the Detroit Cobras are in Pittsburgh Wednesday at Club Cafe.

The Cobras have been around since the mid-90s,
part of the same generation of Detroit garage rock revival as the
Dirtbombs, Electric Six and the White Stripes. Vocalist Rachel Nagy
leads the party, alongside longtime guitarist Mary Ramirez. The
band's website describes the two as "the bad girls by the exit
doors at the school dance, all leather and heels, sneaking smokes and
passing the flask." (The rest of the band is in constant flux;
they've gone bandmates like ex-boyfriends.)

Their blend of rockabilly, soul, and Motown spans
the 50s and 60s; the Cobras could have scored the entire Pulp Fiction
soundtrack themselves. They have but one original song, the cheeky
"Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat)." Everything else is R&B
standards by the likes of The Shirelles, Otis Redding, and the Staple
Singers, reinterpreted through an injection of Cobra venom. Just
don't call them a cover band.

(Cobra venom about to be inserted)

Here's the band performing "Cha Cha Twist."
(You may recognize it from The Jackass Movie, the part where
Steve-O feeds a whale shark by putting shrimp inside his thong.)

We have a pair of tickets to giveaway for this
engagement. Simply email your name to pghmusicreport [at] gmail.com and put "Detroit Cobras" in the subject line
for a chance to enter. The Cobras have a reputation as a great live
band, and the fact they're still touring despite not having a new
album to their name since 2007 is proof of that. Pittsburgh's The
Devilz In The Detailz open. Show starts at 8. Tickets are $15.